Trade Policy

Trade Deficit for April 2011 - $43.7 Billion

The April 2011 U.S. trade deficit decreased -$3.1 billion to $43.7 billion. This is a -6.7% monthly drop in the trade deficit and the largest since October 2010. Exports were the highest on record. Oil imports were the highest on record and the drop in imports from Japan also was the largest decrease on record. The tsunami hit Japan on March 11th.

 

Trade Deficit for February 2011 - $45.8 Billion

The February 2011 U.S. trade deficit decreased $1.2 billion to $45.8 billion. The January 2011 monthly trade deficit was $47 billion, revised up from $46.3 billion. $26.7 billion of this deficit is oil related, $0.9 billion less than 1 month ago, and 44.1% of the total goods trade deficit. Both imports and exports dropped, with imports declining $3.6 billion, or 1.7% and exports dropping $2.4 billion, or 1.4% for February.

Trade Deficit for January 2011 - $46.3 Billion

The January 2011 U.S. trade deficit increased a whopping $6 billion to $46.3 billion, from the December 2010 trade deficit of $40.3 billion, revised. $26.7 billion of this deficit is oil related, $1.2 billion more than 1 month ago, and 45.3% of the total goods trade deficit. Imports increased 2.4 times faster than exports than December, with monthly increases of $4.4 billion for exports and imports $$10.5 billion.

 

Trade Deficit for December 2010 - $40.6 Billion

The December 2010 U.S. trade deficit increased $2.3 billion to $40.6 billion. $25.3 billion of this deficit is oil related. For the year, the trade deficit is -$497.8 billion, a trade deficit increase of -$122.9 billion, or 32.8% increase, in comparison to 2009. Oil related trade was -$265 billion of the total yearly 2010 deficit, or 53.2%.

Trade Deficit for November 2010 - $38.3 Billion

The November 2010 U.S. trade deficit decreased $0.1 billion to $38.3 billion. October's trade deficit was revised to $38.4 billion. Exports increased $1.2 billion and imports increased $1.1 billion. That's only a 0.7% increase in exports from last month, so in a nutshell, the trade deficit didn't budge much from October.

 

Australia Finds out "Free" Trade Ain't So Free After All

By way of Public Citizen, there is a new 400 page report on Australia's six NAFTA style trade agreements that concludes they ain't doin' much for their economy, Bloody onkus mate.

The Productivity Commission has told the government there is little evidence to suggest Australia's six free-trade agreements have produced substantial commercial benefits

Millions of dollars of taxpayer funds has been paid out to multinational corporations due to corporate lawsuits filed under NAFTA's investor-state dispute settlement provisions.

The Age reports Australia is losing millions to free trade agreements, over copyrights of all things.

Copyright provisions inserted in the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement could eventually cost Australia as much as $88 million per year as the nation pays an extra 25 per cent each year in net royalty payments, ''not just to US copyright holders, but to all copyright holders''.

The copyright provisions extend payments from 50 years after an author's death to 70 years and enshrine in Australian law ''rules that would otherwise be anti-competitive such as permitting the use of region codes on DVD players''.

The provisions have saddled Australia with copyright obligations ''even higher than in the US … because we matched their higher level of copyright protection but have maintained our lower level of copyright users' rights'', the report says.

WTO Rules Against China on Tire Tariffs, China Currency Manipulation Amendment to Senate Tax Bill Introduced

The WTO has ruled against China and in favor for the United States on Chinese tire import tariffs.

Bloomberg:

World Trade Organization judges rejected China’s complaint that U.S. tariffs on Chinese car and light-truck tires violate global trade rules, saying the Obama administration “did not fail to comply with its obligations.”

President Barack Obama announced the three-year duties on $1.8 billion of tires from China in September 2009, acting on a complaint by the United Steelworkers union, which represents 15,000 employees at 13 tire plants in the U.S. The union said Chinese tire exports to the U.S. tripled from 2001 to 2004 to 41 million and called for a cap on annual imports of 21 million.

China screamed protectionist, which the WTO rejected. The tariff schedule for Chinese tires was 1st year: 35%, 2nd: 30%, then 25%. This is a huge deal, a major victory because the WTO allowed tariffs as a trade remedy. It's also important that just because someone name calls something protectionist, does not make it illegal under the WTO.

Meanwhile Indian imported steel pipe is being dug up because it's defective and Senators Sherrod Brown and Olympia Snowe have introduced an amendment to put tariffs on China for currency manipulation.

Obama Does a "Lose-Lose" by South Korea Free Trade Agreement

Remember all of those promises during campaign 2008 to finally reform trade and stop NAFTA like trade agreements? Chalk up another one to the win elections rhetoric dust heap. While Obama claims this NAFTA style Bush era trade agreement is the very ole and tired corporate-speak win-win, odds are it's another lose-lose. A loss for the American people and a loss for Obama himself in 2012.

Obama has announced a new trade agreement with South Korea. There is just one new tweak that is better than before, the tariff schedule on autos.

The new agreement calls for South Korea to reduce its tariff on U.S. auto imports from 8% to 4%, and fully eliminate it in five years.

Meanwhile, the 2.5% U.S. tariff on auto imports will remain in place until the fifth year, instead of being immediately eliminated as specified in the 2007 agreement.

Here's what Public Citizen said about the auto tweaks:

Merely tweaking the “cars and cows” market access provisions of Bush’s NAFTA-style Korea trade pact but leaving in place the offshoring-promoting foreign investor protections is a slap in the face to the majority of Americans who, according to repeated polls, oppose the same old trade policy that has cost millions of American jobs.

Reduce the trade deficit; increase GDP & median wage

Warren Buffett’s concept to significantly reduce USA’s trade deficit.

I’m a proponent of a proposal that was introduced to the Senate in 2006. Trade deficits are always detrimental to a nation’s GDP. Trade deficit’s detriment to the GDP exceeds the amount of the deficit itself. The GDP bolsters the median wage.

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